Chapter 27: Life Link, Energy Link
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Early the next morning, Chu Danqing took Dabao out to set up their stall again.
He had Dabao watch the stall while he went to retrieve the White Fur Robe and Silver-Scaled Cloud Brocade.
The craftsman’s skill was excellent. His basic tailoring skill was probably even higher than Chu Danqing’s basic summoning skill.
The two pieces of equipment fit perfectly, without the slightest trace of alteration.
Chu Danqing put them on immediately.
“Warm in winter and cool in summer. No wonder, considering that the scales and pelt of the White Dragon Fish and the Cave Beast were used as materials.”
“The only pity is that they have no True Spirits.” Chu Danqing sounded slightly regretful.
Then he looked himself over. Truly, clothes made the man. Once dressed in this outfit, both his appearance and bearing had improved considerably.
Chu Danqing also knew why they lacked True Spirits.
For one thing, a True Spirit could only appear in a single piece of equipment, which was why only the Roar of the White Dragon Fish and the Grudge of the Kindred-Eater possessed them.
For another, the Silver-Scaled Cloud Brocade was artificially crafted equipment. It had merely received the Paradise’s recognition. Only the Paradise could extract and bestow a True Spirit; humans could not create one by their own efforts.
True-Spirit equipment could only be produced through the Paradise, with treasure chests being one branch of that production route.
Precisely because the channels of production were so limited, the number of times an item could be awakened fluctuated.
After retrieving his equipment, Chu Danqing hurried back to the stall.
At a glance, he saw Dabao once again struggling to communicate with an Apostle.
Compared with the heavily armored knight from before, however, this Apostle was much calmer.
Perhaps he had only just arrived and had yet to build up any anger.
Chu Danqing hurried over and said, “Sorry. I had something to take care of and arrived a little late.”
The Apostle’s gaze was sharp, and his entire body radiated an aura as keen as a blade.
“Good. The person in charge is here.” Without another word, he displayed a skill book called Life Link for Chu Danqing to see. “A summoning skill. I want your Grudge of the Kindred-Eater in exchange.”
[Skill Book: Life Link]
[Type: Active Skill]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Effect: Upon use, grants the skill Life Link, allowing targets within range to be linked and share part of their lost health.]
At first glance, Chu Danqing found it quite appealing. But after examining it more carefully, he discovered the problem.
“This skill isn’t quite right.” He immediately identified the key issue, which lay mainly in the words “share” and “lost health.”
If Dabao took on part of the damage Chu Danqing received, Dabao’s high Constitution and ability to drain health would make it worthwhile.
But if Chu Danqing had to suffer part of the damage Dabao received, he would truly die on the spot.
“Sharing means I’d also have to bear part of the damage suffered by my summon,” Chu Danqing pointed out.
In truth, he really wanted this Life Link skill. Although it had flaws, there were many ways to use it.
A quick turn of his mind revealed no shortage of possibilities.
The simplest method would be to link it to an enemy.
For example, Dabao could be linked to another enemy. Then, whenever that enemy attacked Dabao, the linked enemy would help bear part of the damage.
Or, more directly, he could link two enemies together. Then, whenever Dabao attacked one enemy, it would be equivalent to attacking both.
Chu Danqing liked the skill very much, but his expression remained impassive, as though it were barely adequate.
“I can raise the price, but that would be overpaying. You’ll have to make up the difference.” The Apostle’s expression revealed neither anger nor pleasure.
He showed Chu Danqing another skill book with a similar effect, called Energy Link.
“They’re a matched set, so they’re worth more. Name your price.”
To be honest, if there had only been Life Link, Chu Danqing would not have minded missing out on it.
But now that the two skills came as a set, things were different.
Chu Danqing felt that the tricks he could perform would multiply. He might even be able to take on the roles of damage dealer, controller, and support.
“I’m curious. Why don’t you learn them yourself?” Chu Danqing asked.
He refused to believe that the other man could not see their value. Pies did not fall from the sky. More likely, what fell were traps.
If used properly, these two linked skills were worth far more than his own Grudge of the Kindred-Eater.
“That’s not something you need to ask.” The Apostle had no intention of explaining. They were engaged in a simple transaction; there was no reason to say more.
Chu Danqing thought for a moment, then placed the Wolf-Fang Necklace on the table.
“Not enough,” the Apostle said.
“It’s enough. The skills still need to be upgraded, and their flaws are too obvious.” Chu Danqing naturally had no intention of increasing his offer.
“Your blade also needs to awaken a True Spirit,” the Apostle countered.
“But my blade has no flaws, and once fully awakened, it will be of Excellent quality. It will be enough to last you until the second rank.” Chu Danqing added another bargaining chip.
“Add another thousand Paradise Points.” After a moment of silence, the Apostle named his bottom price.
Hearing this, Chu Danqing spread his hands. “I don’t have that much. Five hundred Points, and we have a deal.”
He immediately cut the amount in half.
Without another word, the Apostle turned and walked away.
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“Eight hundred. Take it or leave it—I really have no more.” Chu Danqing called after him, adding another three hundred Paradise Points.
The Apostle stopped. “Eight hundred and fifty!”
The corner of Chu Danqing’s eye twitched. Who would have thought that someone so imposing would haggle over fifty Paradise Points?
“Deal.” Chu Danqing did not continue to hold out and agreed at once.
[You sold: Grudge of the Kindred-Eater, Wolf-Fang Necklace, Paradise Points x850. You received: Skill Book: Life Link, Skill Book: Energy Link.]
The transaction completed, the Apostle took the items and left without lingering for even a moment.
After selling everything, Chu Danqing packed up the stall and departed as well.
He immediately learned both skills. At the same time, the corresponding knowledge of their Level One forms surfaced in his mind.
Two new skills appeared in his empty skill slots.
[Life Link (Active) Lv. 1: Links one target within ten meters, causing both parties to share 50% of all lost health. Consumes 1 Energy per minute.]
[Energy Link (Active) Lv. 1: Links one target within ten meters, causing both parties to share 50% of all lost energy. Consumes 1 Energy per minute.]
“The sharing ratio is fifty percent. That’s rather interesting.”
“It only limits the number of linked targets. It doesn’t limit the number of times I can link myself.”
“Still, there’s another problem: how strong is the link?”
“If the link is too weak, I’ll have to find a way to solve that.”
“I’ll have to test it.” Chu Danqing glanced at the 2,650 Paradise Points he had left. His pockets were truly empty.
The Paradise did provide corresponding services, but they required Paradise Points.
Chu Danqing had to reserve Points to activate his permissions, and he also needed to purchase restorative consumables. After testing, he even wanted to raise the levels of these two skills.
There was simply no room left in his budget.
In the end, his gaze fell on Dabao.
“How about… we test it ourselves?” Chu Danqing was not trying to test the efficiency of the damage sharing, but the strength of the link itself.
Dabao looked bewildered. He had no idea what they were supposed to test, but since Chu Danqing had said so, he nodded. “Okay.”
At that moment, Chu Danqing suddenly understood why the Apostle who had bought the Grudge of the Kindred-Eater had been unwilling to part with even fifty Paradise Points.
Paradise Points truly did not last long. The stronger one became, the more desperately one needed them.
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